Representatives of baseball leagues, summer camps and other community programs were in the legislature Thursday to hear the Progressive Conservatives grill the government about why they won’t be funded this year.
“The NDP left them high and dry,” said Tory Kathleen Cook, referring to representatives of the baseball programs who were observing question period.
She said groups that run programs, including in Charleswood (which is in her constituency), St. James, Transcona and others, found out two weeks into the season that their application for Green Team funding this summer was not approved.
“Why is the NDP cutting funding for youth with no explanation?”
The provincial Urban/Hometown Green Team grant program funds summer positions for people between the ages of 15 and 29 in municipal governments (excluding the City of Winnipeg), northern affairs community councils and non-profit organizations.
Non-profits receive up to $150,000 and are reimbursed the full Manitoba minimum wage paid to employees.
This year, the NDP budgeted just over $5.9 million for the Green Team. Last year, the governing Tories budgeted $9.6 million. Prior to the pandemic, Green Team funding was just over $4 million.
Interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko asked whether Premier Wab Kinew had signed off on the cuts. Kinew was in Brandon and missed question period Thursday afternoon.
In the absence of Kinew — who was in Brandon Thursday — deputy premier Uzoma Asagwara said they’re willing to meet directly with the groups. “Our government is committed to listening to Manitobans.”
Government officials did meet with some rejected applicants after question period. There was no word on whether any promises were made to restore funding.
Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Ian Bushie, who was in Brandon Thursday, issued a statement late in the day. “We continue to listen to the Manitoba Camping Association and other organizations regarding Green Team funding allocations, and we are working hard to ensure that camps across the province will continue to deliver the programming kids love.”
In question period, PC municipal relations critic Trevor King asked how many applications had been rejected.
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said there were 820 applications, which is much higher than normal, and that 539 projects were approved that would employ 1,450 youth.
Some longtime recipients were denied, including Camp Massad, which found out May 10. The Jewish summer camp applied for $33,000, said director Danial Sprintz.
It received $17,400 in 2023, $17,500 in 2022 and $32,800 in 2021, he said.
The Interlake sleepaway camp, which has 45 staffers and typically hosts 130 campers every summer, has an annual budget of around $300,000. Sprintz said he wishes the government had advised groups there would be less money to go around due to the high volume of applications.
“Because we receive the grant every year, we take that into account when we make our budget in October,” he said. “It’s going to leave a pretty big hole in our budget and we’re going to have to get creative.”
The camp will have to adjust programming, food supplies and staffing levels.
It recently raised money to boost security measures, which Sprintz said won’t be affected by the hole in funding.
“When you have less money, you have to find it from other places. When you’re a charity, none of the places are ones you really want to be pulling from,” he said. “It’s a bad look on the Manitoba government.”
Question period became heated when Tory MLA Obby Khan asked about rejected funding applications for programs run by faith-based organizations in his constituency of Fort Whyte.
“Why has (the minister) targeted faith-based community organizations?”
Wiebe demanded that Khan retract the question, calling it “absolutely disgusting” and “beyond the pale.”
Green Team program approved projects 2024
Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter
After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.
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Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk.
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